ALGOMA – The pink bus that rolled into Algoma Thursday morning is ushering in a new approach to women's health care in Northeastern Wisconsin.

The bus, a partnership of Bellin Health Care and Associated Bank, is the area's first mobile mammography and bone-density test unit. It was formally unveiled earlier this month and began making its rounds on Monday.

Janice Langlais was one of the first patients to board the bus in Algoma. She said she sees the mobile unit as a tool to make women, like her friends and family, more apt to schedule routine examinations.

"It's easy and faster and somehow there doesn't seem to be as much pressure as a regular office appointment, and that for me was a bonus," Langlais said of her mammography appointment.

Plans for the mobile unit began after Bellin's research team discovered an elevated number of advanced-stage breast cancer among patients living in rural areas.

The thought is that more women will get annual mammograms, and doctors can treat the disease earlier, if the equipment and staff can be brought to communities where the diagnostic services are not available at local clinics.

"We realized this higher incidence of cancer was caused by poor access to regular screening mammography," said George Kerwin, president and CEO of Bellin Health. "This beautiful equipment is in the hands of support staff, radiologists and technicians and will improve mammography access to rural communities, and as a result improve the health of this population."

The pink bus has the same high-tech digital mammography and bone-imaging equipment that is used at Bellin Hospital.

When a mammogram appointment concludes the images are sent to staff at Bellin Hospital in Green Bay. A nurse then contacts the patient with the results.

Since the bus began operating in February, its staff has completed 910 mammograms and 170 bone density tests.

Kerwin said the plan is to expand service to all of Bellin's clinic locations, with a goal of performing 5,000 mammograms annually.

"The response has been phenomenal," said Heather Hassemer, a registered mammographer and X-ray technician. " I can't tell you how many times a day we hear how nice it is that we are reaching out and coming to the patients instead of them having to drive out to Green Bay. Just hearing things like that let's us know we're serving a purpose."

Bellin Health suggests women have a yearly mammogram starting at age 40 unless a patient has a family history of breast cancer, in which case screenings should begin earlier. Bone density tests should be performed every two years for women over 50, to detect signs of osteoporosis.

Patients are required to get an order from their physician to schedule an appointment with the mobile staff. Bellin's scheduling department then gives the patient a suggested a location.

"It is very convenient because if patients have go to their doctor for a different purpose they are able to schedule their mammogram with us," Hassemer said. "And since we also have bone density patients can get everything done in one day."